Arthritis and Gout HELP !!

hornby

Hi. I broke the large toe on my right foot 3 times 30 years ago, when I practiced a martial art. Ever since I have had pain in the joint from time to time. Three years ago I had a gout attack, which was unbelievably painful, but went within a week. In June of this year I had another attack, followed by 3 more in the next 3 months. I now take Allopurinol to reduce the uric acid level, but to be honest, the level wasn't very high anyway. I had an X-ray which indicated that the as a result of the trauma arthritis has set in and left the joint susceptible to gout. Whether the gout is normal gout or pseudo gout is not known.

The problem is that my foot hurts all the time, even when I don't have an attack of gout. Needless to say this is the arthritis. My question is, is there any natural remedy that may help, as I am only 59 years old, and don't want to spend the rest of my life taking pain killers.

[Deleted User]

Hi and welcome to the forums

you might find this booklet helpful
https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/managing-arthritis/coping-with-pain
you could always give our helpline a call (it's free)
Helpline 0808 800 4050
hopefully you will get the help you want

Al

stickywicket

Hello Hornby and welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear you have both gout and OA. I have RA and OA as, for my early years of RA there were no disease modifying meds available back in the '60s so OA took hold.

I've been on prescription meds ever since. I don't try to do without them as those first years of RA taught me that wasn't a good idea. But I do try to keep any medication down to the minimum as long as the docs agree.

I guess none of us actually wants to be on lifelong medication but it can be the lesser of two evils. If your foot hurts all the time it's probably the OA. The only things shown to help are exercise and a good diet. Swimming / cycling can be good for OA in several joints but, the foot? I don't know. They would, however, ensure your other joints stayed in better nick as, when trying to 'spare' one painful area, we tend to put pressure on another.

Daily cod liver oil might help. Turmeric is considered to have anti-inflammatory properties but, if I remember rightly, these are about the only two supplements which might help at all and, if intending to use them, or any other supplements or herbal products, do check with your pharmacist that they won't interact with your allopurinol or any other prescription meds you might be taking.

dibdab

Hi,

My mum has suffered from gout for years and is convinced that eating cherries helps! This research seems to bear it out:
http://goutandyou.com/gout-and-cherries/

There appears to be a fair bit of evidence suggesting it's beneficial. Happily she likes cherries so it's not a chore including them in her diet.

barbara12

Hello hornby and welcome to the forum
All I know about gout was that my brothers suffered with it..but it was controlled with some new meds, this is around 10 years ago now..I do hope you can get some relief form it..without the pain killers..

dreamdaisy

My husband has gout but a few days of naproxen sorts him out until the next blast. I began psoriatic arthritis in 1997 (just in my left knee) when I was 37 but other joints soon joined the party and the joint damage that caused has led to OA, diagnosed in 2011: a steady drip of pain relief is essential so I can get on with life. There are many foods with anti-inflammatory properties, there are supplements which claim to reduce the discomfort but these have to be taken regularly for some time and are not guaranteed to help.

Pain is part-and-parcel of our conditions, you may find that keeping the joint as warm as possible helps to ease matters or, conversely, if it's swollen then icing is the way to go. None of us on here want to take the meds we do but they have a role to play in helping us to make the best of what we have, no matter how little we think that is. Pain relief comes in various strengths and guises so you may be able to manage on a small dose of something quite mild: it's the quality of life that counts and pain relief can add to that. I wish you well. DD